


Orange Tails

by IndulgenceWritings



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Real World, Humor, Mostly humor, Worldcrossing, slight romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28582590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndulgenceWritings/pseuds/IndulgenceWritings
Summary: She suddenly realized that she had a naked man in her bathroom. A naked man who had been a cat."I believe", the voice continued. "That we have quite a few things to discuss. But before that…", the man paused. "I require some clothes."The man-cat majestically moved his towel-clad body out of the bathroom door.Actually, Natsumi had just wanted to make a quick run to the grocery store to buy some eggs. But somehow she ended up adopting the strange orange cat hiding under a dumpster.(Takes place in both worlds, Non-Naruto fan OC)
Relationships: Pain (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

Actually, Natsumi had just wanted to make a quick run to the grocery store to buy some eggs. But it just happened that she passed the botany section along the way and immediately fell in love with the cute Venus flytrap on display.

She did not waste any time acquiring it. Grinning brightly at her newest purchase - she had decided to call him Mr. Snap-snap – Natsumi almost stumbled over a fluffy orange thing hastily crossing the sidewalk in front of her.

It was a cat, and it was limping slightly. Natsumi frowned. Was it injured? Worried, she followed the spooked animal into the back alley.

Natsumi could see the end of an orange tail vanishing below a dumpster as she rounded the corner.

She hung the bag containing Mr-Snap-snap on her left wrist and crouched down. Purple eyes glared at her out of the darkness and the cat hissed threateningly.

Natsumi smiled softly and raised both her hands. "It's okay," she whispered soothingly. "I won't hurt you. But won't you come out for me? You seem hurt, maybe I can help."

The hissing stopped and for a moment it almost seemed as if the cat was judging her sincerity.

Then slowly a head emerged, followed by the rest of the cat's body.

Natsumi grinned and tilted her head. "You are a smart one, aren't you?" The cat just kept staring at her. The young woman hummed. "Do you want to come home with me? I can take a look at your paw and you seem like you could do with something to eat, too."

The animal slowly edged closer and Natsumi extended her hands towards it. The orange cat gave her another of those strange, intelligent looks and allowed her to pick it up.

"Ah, you are a male cat," Natsumi remarked as she carefully cradled the cat in her arms making sure not to jostle the injured paw. "Well, little tomcat, let's go."

The cat remained silent.

* * *

Luckily Natsumi's apartment was not far away. Somehow she managed to open her door with the cat still in her arms and placed it gently on her couch. "I'll find the medkit. Hold on a bit longer, okay?"

The cat nodded in agreement. Natsumi blinked in surprise. That had almost been a human mannerism.

"Okay…good…" Throwing a last confused look at her furry guest – just how intelligent were cats anyway? – she quickly hurried into the bathroom.

It took her less than two minutes to find the first aid kit and she hurried back into the living room.

"That's going to hurt a bit," she informed the cat apologetically. She did not know why she was saying that, it was a cat after all, but somehow it felt more like she was talking with an actual human being.

"Can I have your paw?" she asked, feeling both right and silly at the same time. To her great surprise, the cat actually extended the injured appendage to her. Natsumi almost dropped the disinfectant. Okay, she was not imagining it. The cat _did_ understand her. She shook her head- That was not the right time to wonder about this. 'Injured animal, Natsumi.', she reminded herself sharply.

"Ah…", she muttered quietly as she saw the slight gash on the cat's paw. "That looks quite painful. I'll be as quick as possible okay?"

She quickly disinfected the wound and wrapped it up carefully. The cat did not even flinch once.

"You are a strong one, aren't you, my silent warrior?" Natsumi murmured and stroked gently over his fur. "You need a name if you are going to stay, right?"

The cat looked at her and Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "Jimmu," she decided finally. "It means divine warrior. According to legend, this was the name of the first emperor of Japan. He was said to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the storm god Susanoo."

She smiled at the newly named Jimmu. "Somehow it seems fitting."

The cat meowed and Natsumi had the strange impression that he was actually quite _pleased_ with her choice.

"Well, let's see what can find you for dinner, okay Jimmu?

* * *

Once Jimmu was supplied with enough water and canned tuna, Natsumi sat down and booted her notebook.

Her latest project was almost done. She just needed to put the finishing touches on her client's website.

Natsumi lost herself into the world of code and only paused in adjusting the content div's headline margin when she felt someone staring at her.

She turned and smiled at Jimmu who was peering up at her monitor.

"Have you eaten enough?"

Jimmu meowed in agreement. The young woman nodded and placed a soft cushion on the floor. "Good. If you want to you can rest here while I finish this up. Try not to put too much pressure on your paw."

The cat meowed again and carefully settled on the fluffy pillow, keeping his eyes fixed on Natsumi.

Who shook her head. "What a strange cat. But I guess I am strange as well, talking to it."

Grinning slightly, she returned back to her work.

* * *

It took her about two hours to finish up. Sighing in relief, Natsumi closed her notebook and turned, only to find out that Jimmu had not moved from his position.

Feeling slightly guilty, she knelt down next to him. "Sorry, it took me so long. Do you need anything? The bathroom perhaps?"

Natsumi snickered slightly. She was asking a cat if it needed the bathroom. If anyone heard her, they would think she was losing it.

"Well, your fur is quite dirty, you really could do with a bath - but I don't want to aggravate your injury," she hummed again. "Maybe if I washed it out with a towel…Come, I'll show you the bathroom."

Natsumi stood and left the room, the cat trailing behind her.

* * *

The young woman drenched the towel with warm water and carefully brushed it over the cat's fur. It was fluffy and warm and strangely soft. The skin was tender and creamy white and-

Wait.

What?

Skin?  
 _Tender_?

 ** _White_**?

Natsumi froze and slowly, looked up. Her green eyes met very purple, very _human_ eyes and the young woman felt a sudden sense of dread.

Looking down again she realized that the towel was no longer wiping of dirty cat fur, but rather laying on a very muscled and very male stomach.

A very _naked_ male stomach.

Natsumi jerked back, but a sudden harsh grip around her right wrist stopped her from running out of the door. A hand grabbed her chin and she found herself looking into the strange ringed eyes again.

"Calm," a deep voice commanded authoritatively and Natsumi felt herself relax. Her mind calmed and she suddenly realized that she had a naked man in her bathroom. A naked man who had been a cat.

"I believe", the voice continued. "That we have quite a few things to discuss. But before that…", the man paused. "I require some clothes."

Natsumi snorted.

This entire situation was absolutely ridiculous. She was probably dreaming.

Yep. She must have fallen asleep over her work again. Oh well, she might as well go along with this dream now. The guy was rather hot after all.

"You can have some of my uncle's clothes," she answered. "He occasionally leaves them here when he spends the night. Grab a towel and follow me."

The man-cat nodded grandly and majestically moved his towel-clad body out of the bathroom door.

Natsumi giggled. What a strange dream.

* * *

"You are not dreaming," the man told her when she pinched herself for the fourth time.

Natsumi stared at him. "So you are telling me that you are a _ninja_ with _superpowers_ who got stuck as a cat and you want me to believe that?

Jimmu frowned. "If it's proof you require, I can give it to you." He raised his hand, the ringed eyes flashed slightly and Natsumi suddenly felt herself yanked halfway across the room only to land safely on the living room couch.

She let out a quiet "Oomph," as her body hit the cushions and within the blink of an eye the man was standing next to her looking down at her with an impassive expression. "Was that proof enough? Or do you require another demonstration?" He slowly raised his hand again.

"No!" the young woman answered vehemently, turning on the couch to glare at him over the armrest. "That was enough, thanks."

"So you believe me?" the man raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Natsumi answered, pushing herself up. "I believe you. But could you have not proven it _without_ throwing me around like a ragdoll?"

"I could have," Jimmu agreed easily. "But it would have taken longer. Besides", he looked over the young woman's slightly crumpled form. "Some things can only be understood if you feel them yourself."

"And what are those things?" Natsumi asked curiously.

The man's eyes flashed. "Power. Fear. _Pain_."

Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "You look like you have felt a lot of pain." The man seemed startled by her casual remark. His posture stiffened and he looked almost defensive.

"Your eyes are empty, Jimmu," she added quietly. "When have you decided to kill yourself?"

"That is of no concern to you," Jimmu replied sharply and Natsumi felt a sudden immobilizing pressure on her. "Now tell me about this world." It was an order.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

* * *

The questions went long into the night and it was already two am when Pain had finally run out of things to ask. Natsumi showed him the way to the guest bedroom and went to bed herself.

The night passed peacefully.

* * *

Apparently, ninja were early raisers. Natsumi grumbled at the loud knocking coming from the door. Grumpily she stood up and grabbed the first outfit she could find.

Her less-than-cheerful good morning only got a curt, disinterested nod. Honestly, was the man completely emotionless?

"Are you hungry?" Natsumi asked. "I can make us some breakfast."

"That would be appreciated," the man answered.

"Good. Why don't you watch some TV while I go and prepare everything?

Quickly she showed him how to use the remote.

Pain watched attentively.

"I'll leave it on the news channel for now. So you can learn more about this world. If you don't like it, just switch."

"Very well," Pain agreed and turned his attention towards the reporter.

Natsumi returned to the kitchen and took some eggs out of the refrigerator. She was just about to turn on the stove when a sudden crash from the living room sent her running towards her guest.

The man was staring at the TV, the chair he had been sitting on had been thrown over and an almost oppressive force rippled through the room.

"What happened?" Natsumi inquired.

The man slowly turned his head in her direction. "What," he pointed at the flatscreen. "Is the meaning of _this_?!"

Natsumi followed his finger and looked at the figure running over the screen. It looked exactly like Jimmu. The screen flashed and suddenly "Naruto – Shippuden" appeared over the picture of a red cloud.

The young woman looked from the screen to her visitor and back again. Her mind was reeling. "That…that was an ad for a TV series. That one is called Naruto and it's really popular here, I've never watched it before, though."

"A TV series?" Pain repeated quietly and for the first time, there was actually something remotely emotional in his tune. Disbelief.

The power in the room swirled agitatedly. Then he whirled around and stared at Natsumi. "I want to see this so-called series. _Now_." His tune was threatening.

Natsumi nodded slowly, trying to make sense of everything. "Okay…I believe it's on Netflix. I'll get breakfast ready and then we can watch it, okay?"

The man took a deep breath and the pressure in the room subsided. "Very well," he conceded. "Be swift."

* * *

Natsumi turned the egg over. Why did Jimmu look exactly like the guy out of an _anime_? He could not have stepped out of a movie, right? That was ridiculous. But then…he was a ninja and Naruto _was_ a show about ninjas and she _had_ a cat-turned-man with superpowers in her living room.

She shook her head. Nothing made sense anymore.

Sighing deeply, she put the egg on the plates and carried the breakfast towards the living room.

* * *

It had taken them several days to watch the series and Natsumi had skipped quite a few episodes, preoccupied with her work.

The revelations had been…astounding.

Akatsuki.

_Pain._

Natsumi had the _leader_ of a criminal organization sitting in her _living room_. She had no idea how to feel about that.

Granted so far the man seemed rather rational, but the way he was portrayed in the series was not very flattering. But then he was her Jimmu, too. The cat with the hurt paw she had saved from the streets and she was _worried_ about him.

Quietly she put a bowl of noodles in front of the silent man who had just finished watching episode 150, the last one currently airing. "Are you alright?"

Pain – no Jimmu let out a harsh laugh. "My organization is falling apart. Everyone is dying." The power around him began to swirl angrily again. "How could I possibly be _alright_?!"

Natsumi put a hand on his arm. "You know everything now. You can change it, Jimmu. Change _everything_."

The man turned and gave her a very strange look. "Why do you keep calling me that? Why are you encouraging me? Weren't you the one who said that the nine-tails was _cute_?"

Natsumi shrugged. "He is. But he's not you. To me you are Jimmu, the little orange cat who acted so bravely when his paw was hurt – and now you are hurting again and it's making me angry because I can't patch it up."

Pain laughed again. This time it sounded more exasperated. "You truly are a strange one."

Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "Oh. I know exactly what you need now. A distraction!"

"A distraction?" Pain repeated skeptically.

The young woman grinned. "Have you ever heard of Kung Fu?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Natsumi's grin widened. "How about it, _Leader-sama_? Want to become even deadlier?"


	2. Chapter 2

"What is this?" Pain inquired, looking skeptically at the vehicle in front of him.

"A car," Natsumi answered. "You open the door like this," she demonstrated. "Get in like that." Another demonstration. "And finally, put the seatbelt on - That's safety equipment that makes sure you are not thrown out of the front window."

Pain paused for a moment before resolutely stating. "We are running."

"I can't do that," Natsumi reminded him. "Non-ninja here, remember?"

The man answered by grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder. "Which way?"

Natsumi grumbled in displeasure. "Left."

Pain took off.

* * *

Pain was fast. Very fast.

The young woman slumped onto the ground, glaring half-heartedly at the unperturbed ninja next to her. "That…was awful," she commented.

Pain's lips quirked slightly. "You will get used to it."

"I don't want to!" Natsumi disagreed vehemently. "And Mr. Snap-snap does not like it either!"

The ninja stared at her. "Mr. _What_?"

"Mr. Snap-snap, my venus flytrap!". Natsumi answered, pulling said plant out of her backpack.

Pain looked completely unimpressed from the potted plant in her hands to Natsumi and back, before wordlessly turning around. It seemed even in another world he still had to deal with carnivorous plants. "Why are we in the middle-of-nowhere?"

"So I can distract you without having to worry about you breaking my walls," Natsumi replied, carefully settling Mr. Snap-snap against a tree.

"I want to practice some Kung Fu forms. You can join me," she paused before asking. "You can control your strength, right? I don't have to worry about you accidently breaking _me_?"

"I am confident in my capability to hold myself back enough not to damage you," Pain replied matter-of-factly.

Natsumi nodded and patted Mr. Snap-snap on its non-existent head. "Good. Then let's get started, shall we? First stance –"

* * *

He was good.

Very good for a beginner actually, but Natsumi figured that just came with being a ninja. At least one as skilled as her Jimmu.

She paused. _Her_ Jimmu? When had she started to think of him as hers?

' _When he injured his paw._ ', her memory supplied helpfully.

' _But he was a cat then._ ', her rationality disagreed.

' _So_?', her sentimentality was unimpressed.

Cat or not, Jimmu was hers - and that was final.

Refusing to listen to her rational voice telling her that there was a difference between a man and a cat, Natsumi focused on watching her ninja's progress.

"So, how did you end up here?" Natsumi asked Pain as they paused for a snack. They had tried some light sparring and Natsumi felt rather sore, despite the man's clear attempt at holding back.

Pain furrowed his brows and stopped in his acquisition of a second cheese sandwich. "I am not exactly sure. ", he sounded slightly annoyed by this admission. "I was attempting a new space-time-technique, but it appears I failed to take my bloodline into account."

"The Rinnegan?"

"Yes."

Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "You don't know how to return, then?"

"I am working on it," he replied curtly, closing off immediately.

The young woman smiled softly at him. "If you need anything just tell me, okay Jimmu? I'll help you in any way I can."

Purple eyes rested on her and he nodded once. "I will…Thank you."

"Good. Now want to practice a bit more?"

"Very well. I will do my best not to injure you further."

"...Much appreciated."

* * *

The next days passed by rather quietly. Jimmu was a very calm roommate and content with burying himself in books and working on his way home.

It was two weeks into their newfound cohabitation when Natsumi decided that they need to go out.

"You have been inside way too long," she stated during breakfast. "You should see a bit more of this world while you are here. Maybe you could even learn something useful that will help you once you are home."

"What do you suggest?" Pain asked, putting his teacup down.

"Well, we could start by getting you some clothes. You must be getting tired of wearing my uncle's things – and then…perhaps you could try out some new cuisine?"

"I do not mind wearing them," Pain replied calmly. "But I do prefer something more…comfortable."

"Then it's settled," Natsumi answered and stood to put the plates away. "Let me just feed Mr. Snap-snap and then we can go."

"…Fine."

Pain watched as the young woman cooed over her potted plant and slightly shook his head. Natsumi was a strange woman. Insightful and gentle, and yet energetic and slightly eccentric. She did not seem to have many friends. In the two weeks he had been here, he had never seen her go out to socialize or even talk to her neighbors. She had never mentioned any family members besides this mysterious uncle of hers either, and Pain had not cared enough to pry.

Now however he was starting to get slightly interested in the contradictory woman that had taken him in. Natsumi had been nothing but accommodating to him, going out of her way to tend to his needs. It was startling, because he knew that she did it not because out of fear or because she was trying to curry favor - She just did it because she _cared_ about him.

Him, a complete stranger who had appeared out of nowhere and who had even tried to scare her into obedience.

But she was not afraid, because to her he was still the injured cat she had found in a back alley.

It was both baffling and very humbling.

She reminded him of Konan.

But in a different way.

Konan. She would have liked Natsumi.

Both of them were very strong women.

Briefly he imagined both of them meeting each other, but quickly scratched that thought. It would never happen.

Natsumi did not belong into his world.

Her place was here.

Even if she seemed to possess some chakra.

No. It was too dangerous.

She would be a liability.

He had plans.

Plans she could help with. She, too, knew the storyline.

Pain closed his eyes. No, he would not think about this now. He had only known her for two weeks.

"Are you alright?"

He opened his eyes and looked directly into green orbs, filled with genuine concern.

"Yes, thank you," he replied stiffly. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," the woman answered, smiling brightly. "Let's go. Oh…and Jimmu?"

"What is it?"

"This time we really _do_ need to use the car."

Wonderful.

* * *

Natsumi glanced at Jimmu. That poor guy seemed rather tense. Maybe she should not have told him about being thrown out of the window? But he was a ninja, right? So he would probably be completely fine.

At least Mr. Snap-snap seemed content, but he was probably still busy digesting his breakfast.

And that was when one woman, one ninja, and one potted plant reached the mall.

Somehow this sounded like the beginning of a very strange joke.

"So what style do you like?" Natsumi asked the slightly overwhelmed man at her side.

"Style?" Pain repeated.

"What kind of clothes to you usually wear at home?" Natsumi clarified.

"Robes."

Natsumi blinked at the not so informative answer before realization hit home. Oh right. Akatsuki leader. Robes. Red clouds.

"Fine. Forget it. Just look around and grab whatever you fancy. We've got time."

Pain did not like gothic clothes.

The punk style did not suit his tastes either, even if he was slightly interested in the leather jackets.

The formal section got completely ignored and the hip-hop section was only graced with a casual glance.

Natsumi dragged him past the textured blazers, but she did not think that he would have looked at them, anyway.

Then she found something _really_ interesting. "Jimmu!" Natsumi yelled and waved at him. "Look what I've found!"

The man looked up from the assortment of trousers he had been assessing with a critical eye and turned his attention to the shirts in the young woman's hand.

She handed him the black one and Pain turned it around to read the statement on the front.

**I AM GOD**

written in bold, white letters stared directly back at him.

Pain gave the young woman a very flat look. "Hilarious."

Natsumi grinned and held up the other one.

"I'll be buying that," she informed him.

Pain looked at the lettering and was strangely touched at the word printed on top of it.

**BELIEVER**

"What do you think?" she added with an impish grin. "Wouldn't these make nice souvenirs for your subordinates? If you ever get tired of the robes…"

Pain nearly dropped the shirt he was holding as he imagined himself with the "God" shirt leading the entirety of the Akatsuki against the Konoha nin. All of them proudly proclaiming themselves Believers.

He shuddered.

"No," he replied firmly. "We will _not_ be getting these shirts. In fact, I am hereby banning _any_ kind of statement shirts from being worn around the organization."

Natsumi snickered. "Yes, _Leader-sama_. Whatever you say, _Leader-sama._ "

"…Sometimes I really liked it better when I was feared," Pain murmured quietly.

The young woman brushed her hand against his arm, looking warmly at him. "I am just teasing, you know? You know I respect you."

Pain felt himself soften. "Of course." He knew that. He would not have allowed her to talk to him that way otherwise.

Kami, he was developing a soft spot for that woman. Konan would be overjoyed.

He really missed his best friend.

In the end Pain had found a nice, fitting outfit. It was nothing special, just a pair of black trousers, equally black sneakers, and a red long-shirt.

Natsumi nodded in appreciation. "You look good. But something is missing." She hummed thoughtfully and vanished between the accessories. "Ah. That's perfect."

Grinning brightly, Natsumi picked up a thick, twisted leather bracelet and returned to the changing cubicle Pain had been waiting in. "Your arm, please."

Pain raised an eyebrow and extended his right hand to her.

Natsumi gently attached the leather band around Pain's wrist, her fingers brushing over his skin, and Pain felt himself stiffen slightly at the soft touch.

"There. Now it's perfect."

Pain raised his hand and examined his wrist. "It is nice," he finally concluded.

The young woman smiled at him. "I knew you would like it."

There was a short moment as both of them simply looked at each other. One warm and fond, the other thoughtful and considering.

"Did you know that you have chakra running through you?" the man finally asked.

Natsumi's eyes widened. "I do?"

"Yes," Pain confirmed, his ringed eyes flashing through the henge he had put on them. "Your chakra paths are rather strong."

"Huh," Natsumi muttered, sounding completely surprised. "That's… unexpected. Are there others here who are like this, too?"

Pain shook his head. "Some have a very faint chakra signature, but it is nowhere strong enough to utilize it," he paused. "It seems your chakra paths are unnaturally developed for this world."

"Interesting," Natsumi tilted her head. "I wonder why that is. Perhaps a genetical mutation?"

"It could be," Pain agreed. "But since I have next to no knowledge of this world's workings, I cannot say it for sure."

Green eyes brightened. "Hey, Jimmu. Does that mean I can actually help you?"

Pain stilled. There was just so much hope and care in this gaze that he could not help but be touched.

"Perhaps," he answered quietly. "Possibly. We will have to see if you can access it."

Natsumi smiled. "Well, we can try later. Let's go and eat now?"

"…Yes."

* * *

"And this is called what again? Burger King?"

"Yep," Natsumi replied cheerfully. "Welcome to the wonders of fast-food. Do you want to order, or should I do it?"

"Since I have no idea what all those things are, I'll be leaving that to you," Pain replied, glancing wearily over the menu.

"Fine with me," Natsumi answered. "So why don't you take Mr. Snap-snap and find a table?" she asked, shoving the potted plant into the man's hands. "I'll find you."

"Very well," Pain agreed, easily catching the plant, and he left to find a seat.

Natsumi quickly ordered two Fish kings, coke and French fries, before leaving to find her companions.

Pain was ridiculously easy to find. Not only because he had lots of hopeful ladies throwing not-so-subtle glances at him, but also because he had chosen the only table that offered an overview over the entire restaurant while still having a wall at his back.

The gigantic Venus-flytrap sitting on the table might have helped with locating him, too.

Natsumi put the tray on the table and handed the very skeptical looking man his lunch.

"Here. Enjoy your meal!"

She watched in amusement as he gingerly unwrapped his burger and eyed it like he was contemplating whether it was worthy of joining Akatsuki or not.

Natsumi snickered. "It's tasty. Just try it."

Pain grabbed the burger and bit into it.

There was a moment of anticipatory silence.

Then: "Acceptable."

The young woman smiled. "Good. Do you want to try the French fries, too?"

"Yes."

And that was how Pain's first trip to Burger King became a full success.


	3. Chapter 3

Natsumi looked expectantly at the ninja in front of her. "What do I have to do?"

Pain crossed his arms and stared down at her. "Close your eyes and breathe deeply."

The young woman clutched Mr. Snap-snap closer against her chest and closed her eyes.

"Fell for the warmth in your chest. Grasp it once you have found it and then let it flow," the man instructed her. "Then try to gently push it outside. It might take you a while, so I will go and continue working on my way home. I will feel it if you manage it."

Natsumi nodded with closed eyes. "Okay. Have fun."

Pain shook his head and went a bit further away from the tree Natsumi was leaning against. He spread out the sheets in front of him and lost himself in calculations until he finally felt a soft chakra pulse coming out of Natsumi's direction.

So she had managed to do it. He smiled slightly. Good, that meant she really could be of help with this.

"Ehm…Jimmu?" Natsumi's voice suddenly echoed over the clearing.

"Yes?" he answered absentmindedly.

"Is this supposed to happen?"

Concerned by the strange tone in her voice, Pain raised his head - and stared.

Natsumi was still where he had left her.

But something else had changed.

Sitting on her lap was no longer Mr. Snap-snap but a very real and very naked _Zetsu_.

"No," Pain finally answered once he had gotten rid of his first shock. "That is _not_ normal."

"Finally," Zetsu's white side commented, relieved. " **About time** ," the black side agreed. "Hello, Leader-sama!" the white side waved at Pain.

Pain waved back.

"I don't want to interrupt your touching moment," Natsumi chimed in. "But I'd like to remind you that I have a naked man sitting on my lap."

"I apologize," the white side said and rose. Natsumi immediately closed her eyes. " **I don't** ," the black side disagreed. "We will be back after procuring some clothes," the white side announced.

There was a long moment of silence.

"You can open your eyes again," Pain informed her casually. "He's gone."

Natsumi opened her eyes and whirled around to stare at Pain. "How the hell did that happen?" she demanded. "And where is Mr. Snap-snap?"

"I believe," Pain answered matter-of-factly. "That Zetsu _is_ Mr. Snap-snap. Or more likely he _was_."

"But how?" Natsumi demanded indignantly, already missing her potted plant.

"We wanted to report in when we got caught in Leader-sama's jutsu," Natsumi jumped back as the plant-man in question suddenly appeared in front of her. Dressed in –

"Is that a kilt?!"

"It's all we could find so quickly," the white side explained. " **The breeze is quite nice,"** the black side added, gaining strange looks from the rest of the present people.

Natsumi sighed. "Great. Were there more of you guys hanging around while Jimmu managed to displace himself?"

Pain threw her a displeased look. The woman ignored him in favor of watching Zetsu for his answer.

The man shook his head.

"Good," Natsumi stood and brushed some grass of her trousers. "But how did you change into yourself again?"

" **You channeled chakra into us,"** the black side answered, eyeing her with yellow orbs.

Pain sighed. "We will talk about this later. For now," he looked at Natsumi and handed a leaf to her.

"Repeat what you have done and try sticking this to your body. If it falls or disintegrates, try again. I will be checking on you later. Zetsu, keep an eye on our surroundings and tell me if someone approaches."

"Okay," both Natsumi and the man-plant answered, moving on to their respective tasks.

Natsumi put the leaf on her forehead, just like they had done it in the anime show.

It fell down.

Of course it did.

Leaves don't suddenly decide to stick somewhere unless being held by a force.

Natsumi tried again. This time recalling the warm feeling before attempting it again.

The leaf disintegrated.

The woman grabbed a new one.

The result was the same.

It took her nine tries to get it to stick. She glanced at Jimmu and upon seeing him so immersed in his work, decided not to disturb him.

Natsumi glanced at the branch hanging into her face. Maybe one more leaf?

* * *

Pain stared at the young woman dangling upside down from the branch like some kind of lopsided monkey. "How…", he started slowly. "Did you manage to end up like _this_?"

"Ah," Natsumi grinned sheepishly. "You see, I got that exercise with one leaf down. So I decided to try it with more."

Pain nodded. That was reasonable.

"But then I had plucked the entire leaves off the branch, so I tried sticking twigs to me instead," the woman continued.

Unusual, but nothing too strange. Pain gestured her to go on.

"Well, at some point I ran out of twigs as well and I was too lazy to stand up and get some new ones."

Pain raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it _is_ pretty hard to find leaves in a forest," he commented drily.

"Yes," Natsumi agreed. "Anyway… I tried sticking my hand to the tree instead. Somehow, I got it to work, so I tried it with the other hand, too. Then I ran out of hands and used my feet instead."

"I figured that."

"That was when I realized that I was kind of stuck," Natsumi carried on.

"Obviously."

"And then I saw the apple up the tree and remembered that I had not eaten yet. So I tried crawling up to get it. I somehow managed to reach the branch, but then I got attacked by this very angry squirrel. I lost my concentration and almost fell down, but somehow got my feet to stick to the branch instead."

She gave him a very pleading look. "Help me down?"

Pain sighed. "Just let go. I will catch you."

Natsumi smiled brightly. "Thanks!" and drew her chakra back, landing safely in the ninja's arms.

She grinned up at him. "You know this sticky walking is very convenient."

Pain raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Now I can finally get rid of the cobweb on the living room ceiling."

Wordlessly Pain threw her over his shoulder, calling for Zetsu to follow them home.

* * *

The cobweb on the ceiling did end up getting removed. But not by Natsumi's hands, who was still too wobbly with her newly acquired skill, but rather by Pain himself who did not want to risk the woman falling off the walls because she had been attacked by yet another randomly appearing animal.

" **I am hungry** ," Mr. Snap-snap's voice suddenly informed her. Natsumi almost dropped the glass she had been holding.

"Don't scare me like that!" Natsumi sighed, then she realized just what the man had said and froze. "Jimmu!" she yelled. "Zetsu wants to eat!"

She looked at his plant head. "Um…do you need to water that? I think I might have some fertilizer lying around, too…"

"Thank you, but this is not necessary," the white side informed her. " **I am not a real plant, woman,"** the black side snapped.

"What is this entire ruckus about?" Pain asked, stepping into the room.

"We are hungry," the white side informed his fellow criminal.

Pain massaged the bridge of his nose. "Great." He turned to look at Natsumi. "You do not happen to know where we can find a dead body?"

Natsumi frowned in thought. "Well, they don't exactly lie around here. Normally every death is reported and investigated. People notice if someone goes missing."

She threw a stern glance at Zetsu. "So no random snacking."

The man-plant grumbled in displeasure.

"Is there no place where the law enforcement is slacker?" Pain inquired. "Or a place where people don't ask too many questions?"

Natsumi tilted her head. "There is a place. But I don't really want to get caught up in a gang war." She paused and looked at her apartment-mates. "But I've got another idea."

She turned towards her notebook and pulled up an online article.

"This guy is a high-security prisoner who somehow managed to escape jail and was sighted around these parts. He's wanted for multiple accounts of murder. If someone like him went missing…"

"…people would just assume he went into hiding," Pain finished, throwing her an approving look. "Good idea. Zetsu, if you find this man, he is yours. Be discreet."

"We will," the white side answered. " **About time** ," the black side snapped and Zetsu melted into the ground.

* * *

While Mr. Snap-snap was off getting dinner, Natsumi gave in to her curiosity and entered Zetsu into the search engine.

She glanced over the entries and finally stumbled across a pirated anime extract of a future episode that had somehow ended up being leaked.

Interested, she pressed the play button and watched the scene.

"Jimmu," she finally yelled as she realized the sheer importance of that clip. "We might have a problem."

The word problem always worked like a charm. Pain was already next to her only a moment after she had finished speaking.

"What is it?" he inquired, leaning over the young woman's shoulder to look at the screen.

Natsumi felt his breath tickling against her skin and froze for a second, before she pointed at her findings. "I have just found an extract from a future anime episode," she informed him. "You might want to see that."

She pressed play.

Pain was furious. He had been betrayed. Played with. Used. Manipulated. His dream had been made a joke. Not only once, but twice. Chakra crackled around him, furious and destructive like a raging storm.

"I will destroy them," he whispered, his Rinnegan eyes flashing dangerously. "Both of them – and then I will show the rest of the world the true meaning of pain. They will feel it, _fear_ it and they will finally stop fighting."

Natsumi watched him pacing up and down like an angry cat. A powerful, angry cat. A powerful, angry cat with the potential to destroy the entire world.

Unconsciously, she reached out to him. "It's okay, Jimmu. You will get your peace. I will help you however I can. But now you need to calm down. Zetsu will be back soon."

The tension in the air tightened at the mentioning of that name. Then Pain closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Immediately the pressure withdrew and Natsumi could breathe freely again.

"He cannot find out," Pain declared firmly, boring his eyes into the young woman's. "This knowledge", he gestured towards the screen. "Has to be kept away from him. _At all costs_."

Natsumi nodded. "I don't think Zetsu knows how to use a notebook, anyway – and I won't tell him anything," she declared firmly.

Natsumi was still kind of peeved that her beloved Mr. Snap-snap had turned into a man who wanted to hurt Jimmu.

"We will continue acting normally around him," Pain continued. "I will find a way to end him while he is still here." His eyes flashed again.

The young woman nodded again. "Okay."

Satisfied with the response, Pain relaxed slightly.

There was a moment of silence. Then:

"Do you have any French fries?"

Natsumi grinned. "I'll order some."


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Snap-snap returned about three hours later, looking very much like a happy plant.

"How was dinner?" Natsumi asked, looking up from her newest design project.

" **Crunchy** ," the black side replied, sounding satisfied. "Very skinny," the white side clarified.

"That's…good?" Natsumi offered, because she really had no idea if Mr. Snap-snap liked things crunchy or not.

The man-plant nodded.

Jimmu snorted over his second helping of French fries. Natsumi was going to have to keep a close eye on the man's quickly developing fondness for this particular type of fast-food.

"How are your calculations coming along?" she asked and carefully saved her work before closing the window.

"I am getting closer," Jimmu answered, throwing a displeased look at the paper mountain surrounding him.

"Good," Natsumi replied. "Do you still have enough supplies? Paper, notebook, pen?"

The man nodded once. "I am fine. Thank you."

She turned to Mr. Snap-snap. "Do you need anything? Soil? A new flowerpot?"

" **I am not a plant woman!"** the dark side snapped again and melted into the ground.

"Ah…did I scare him away?" Natsumi asked the only ninja left in the room.

"It appears that way," Pain replied drily. He gave her a flat look. "A new _flowerpot_?"

Natsumi smiled sheepishly and walked over to him.

"There is something I've been wondering since the moment I've seen you guys on screen."

"Oh?" Pain raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Why don't you just use cloaks if you never put your arms through your robes' sleeves, anyway?"

"…Natsumi?" the man replied calmly and leaned into her personal space.

"Yes, Jimmu?"

Pain slowly raised his hand. "Do you want to go flying again?"

The woman rapidly shook her head. "No. I am fine. Thanks for offering, though."

A dichotomic head suddenly appeared between both of them, yellow eyes looking curiously from Pain to Natsumi and back again.

" **Someone is coming** ," Mr. Snap-snap's black side reported. "Idiot," the white side admonished, attempting to glare at the other half of his face. "Did you not see that they were having a moment?" " **So what?"** the black side replied unapologetically.

"Thank you, Zetsu," Pain interrupted him before the argument escalated. "Please keep an eye out and leave the rest to me."

Mr. Snap-snap nodded and vanished again, still muttering to himself about insensitive fools unable to read the mood.

Pain's eyes flashed at the spot he had just vacated. Natsumi could see the repressed anger rippling through the purple orbs.

"Could we turn him into a plant again?" she asked suddenly.

The ninja paused, thrown off by that random question, and threw her a strange look. "Why?"

"Well, he was cuter as a plant," the woman answered. "…and I want Mr. Snap-snap back."

Pain stared at her. "You…", he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You are really the strangest woman I have ever met." He paused to consider the question. "It might be possible. But-", he gave Natsumi a very sharp look when the woman immediately perked up. "If I allow this – _if_ – it has to be done in a way that will make it impossible for him to regain his human form. It will not allow _anyone_ to jeopardize my plans."

Natsumi's eyes sparkled and hugged him impulsively. "Thank you, Jimmu. You're the best!"

Pain froze at her unexpected action, before gently untangling himself. "I did not agree yet," he reminded her. "And there are other things we have to worry about now."

He glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven pm. "Are you expecting visitors?"

Natsumi's face fell. "No," she answered curtly, sounding uncharacteristically harsh. "But I have a good idea who it might be."

There was a loud knocking on the door, followed by a loud: "Natsumi, baby. Are you here? Open the door." It was a male voice – and it sounded drunk.

Pain furrowed his brows. "Who is that?" he demanded to know.

The woman grimaced. "An idiot," she turned to look at him. "Please wait a moment while I kick the trash from my doorstep."

"Natsumi…", the ninja was not very happy about her answer and quickly hid his eyes behind a henge, before resolutely stepping past her.

"Jimmu? What are you doing?" Natsumi asked, hurrying after him.

"Opening the door."

"But why? I can do that myself!" she replied heatedly.

The man stopped. "Very well. But you will _not_ be leaving my sight."

Natsumi was perfectly fine with that. Having Jimmu behind her was really reassuring. She was probably the only one who thought that way, though. People usually did not tend to like having people planning genocide standing behind them. Or in front of them. Or having them anywhere close to their vicinity in general.

Not that it would have made much of a difference to her not-cat. People with powers like his would hardly be hindered by locational placements. Huh. She was rambling again.

Steeling herself, Natsumi opened the door only to see a drunk, unkept man looking at her with a dirty grin. "Hey baby!" he greeted her cheerfully and made a step forward to push past her.

Natsumi did not move. "You are not welcome here, Koto. Leave."

The man's eyes narrowed. "Baby..."

"And don't call me baby," Natsumi interrupted him sharply. "I am not your anything. You lost any right when you tried to _sell_ me to pay your debt."

Behind her, Pain shifted slightly. Natsumi could feel the tension in the air rising. Jimmu was getting angry.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Koto snarled. "You will come back to me. Now!" he leaned forward to grab Natsumi, but the woman easily snatched his wrist, twisted it and threw him on the ground.

Koto yelled in pain, jumped up and took a knife out of his ripped, ragged jacked. He ran forward, his hand posed to strike, but he barely made it two steps before a powerful force pushed him through the air and he impacted painfully with the pavement.

The knife clattered as it was forced out of his hand and Koto found himself dazedly staring into cold, purple orbs.

Several curious neighbors appeared at their doors, drawn in by the commotion, only to leave after throwing confused and disappointed looks at the seemingly empty street.

Natsumi watched curiously as Mrs. Next-Door stomped back into her apartment, muttering angrily about rowdy teenagers.

Her eyes wandered back to Jimmu who was still standing over the downed man, Rinnegan eyes flashing dangerously. Why was nobody seeing them? Was this the power of a genjutsu?

She shook her head. That was not the right moment to think about things like that. She had just been attacked. With a _knife_. She should really have expected that – but then, she had not thought that Koto was desperate enough to actually go _that_ far.

But he was – and Jimmu had saved her.

Natsumi was _very_ grateful towards her non-cat. She might be a skilled martial artist, but she had only ever had to deal with real life combat once before.

Jimmu, however, was dealing with it constantly.

If she wanted to be of any help to him, she had to learn that, too. Quickly.

Natsumi hopped down the one-step stairs and approached Jimmu. The ninja was still looming over the terrified, trembling man, when she came to a stop next to him.

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but a very excited voice beat her to it.

" **Am I getting a midnight snack?** "

Mr. Snap-snap had arrived, soundlessly stepping out of a _tree,_ and eyed the fallen man hungrily. Koto stared at him in horrified fascination.

"You already had dinner," Natsumi reminded the man-plant calmly. "And you wouldn't like him either. He's not crunchy."

" **We don't mind squishy either,"** the black side clarified hopefully.

"No eating him," Pain interrupted Mr. Snap-snap sharply. "We cannot risk him vanishing here. Someone might have seen him arrive."

Natsumi nodded in agreement, ignoring the slowly forming wet spot on Koto's trousers. "Jimmu is right."

She hummed thoughtfully and turned towards Pain. "Can you make him forget what happened?"

"I can make him believe everything was just a dream," the ninja replied easily, still piercing the man with his gaze.

Koto twitched and tried to crawl away, but the ground suddenly seemed to come alive as vines appeared out of nowhere and wrapped tightly around him. He whimpered.

"Good," Natsumi answered cheerfully. "Then how about this: You do your thing and then we drop him off somewhere. Maybe we can find a really filthy dumpster to throw him in."

Pain raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching slightly. "Very well," he agreed. "It is certainly fitting." He paused and threw her a look that almost seemed concerned. "I suggest you leave the rest to us. You should go in and rest. You are trembling."

Natsumi stopped and stared at her hands. Jimmu was right. She _was_ trembling. "Okay," she answered. "I'll go in and make some tea."

"Good."

Pain waited until Natsumi had returned to the house, before turning back towards his victim. His eyes flashed again.

He had not lied.

He _could_ make him believe that everything had been a dream.

He had just conveniently forgotten to mention that this so-called dream was going to be a _nightmare_.

* * *

"Are you done?" Natsumi asked as Pain reappeared less than ten minutes later.

"Yes," the man answered and gratefully took the cup of tea she offered him. "He is now more or less resting peacefully on the local garbage dump. Someone will find him tomorrow," he sipped on his tea before adding. "Probably."

Natsumi snickered.

There was a moment of comfortable silence, before Natsumi put her cup down and gently laid her hand on Pain's arm. "Thank you, Jimmu," she said quietly. "You really saved me back there."

"It was of no consequence," the man answered, avoiding her gaze. "That man…who was he?"

The young woman looked at the floor. "My former finance," she mumbled. "He was actually a rather successful businessman, but then one of his investments fell through and he lost everything. He turned to drinking after that."

"And the part about… _selling_ you?" Pain inquired in a neutral voice.

Natsumi grimaced. "He accumulated a big debt through his drinking habits. He started gambling, too. One of his…creditors told him he would pay everything if he… handed me over in return."

A flash of coldness rippled through the man's eyes. "What happened to that man?"

"He paid a visit to the ICU after he tried to take me," Natsumi replied curtly.

"ICU?"

"Intensive Care Unit," the woman clarified, not looking apologetic at all.

"I see." Natsumi blinked at the man's tune. He sounded almost proud. "Well done."

Natsumi was floored. That was the first time someone had actually praised her for using violence.

But then, Jimmu was a ninja. An S-class criminal on top of that. In his eyes, her reaction was probably considered mild.

"Still…", the man continued, sounding very serious. "You are lacking combat experience. We will be rectifying that."

The woman blinked. "We will?" she repeated in surprise.

"Yes," Pain affirmed, calmly meeting her eyes. "And I will be showing you how to use your chakra to enhance your strength and speed. Take it as a thank you for taking care of me."

"You don't need to thank me," Natsumi mumbled, slightly embarrassed. "I am taking care of you because I want to. Not because I am expecting something from you."

"I am aware," Pain replied seriously. "A fact that continues to baffle me." He put his cup down. "And that makes me even more determined to do something for you in return."

Well, that and it would be helpful for him, too if Natsumi learned how to utilize her chakra.

"We will start tomorrow."

"Okay," Natsumi answered, smiling softly at him. "But could we do it at the late afternoon? There is something I'd like us to do tomorrow first."

"And what would that be?" the ninja asked, raising an eyebrow.

The woman grinned brightly. "Have you ever been to a swimming pool before, Jimmu?"

* * *

Apparently Pain hadn't – and judging by the very skeptical look he was throwing at the swimming trunks Mr. Snap-snap had been drafted to eh…liberate, he was not too keen on it either.

That might have been connected to the leopard print pattern on the offered cloth, though, rather than to a general aversion to visiting gigantic holes filled with heavily chlorinated water.

"I am not wearing that," Pain declared sharply.

Natsumi silently agreed. If Jimmu visited the pool dressed like _that_ , he would return home at least a dozen telephone numbers richer.

Perhaps something less revealing?

A diving suit, maybe?

She was sure one of her neighbors had one.

But it was probably a bit _too_ strange to arrive at a communal pool dressed like a deep-sea diver.

Making a snap decision, Natsumi grabbed the disdained swimming trunks and stuffed them into her cupboard, before sending the plant-man off again to find something less…provoking.

His second attempt at unauthorized free of cost shopping went better than the first and he returned quickly with plain black trunks that managed to gain the Akatsuki leader's seal of approval.

Satisfied with the quick solution of this particular problem, Natsumi went to change.

* * *

It was ten o'clock when they reached the swimming pool.

Mr. Snap-snap, not too fond of being subjected to large amounts of water – and being a rather memorable kind of person – had excused himself from the excursion and had opted to explore the communal park instead.

Natsumi sincerely hoped that he would not run into any drug dealers. The last thing she needed was Mr. Snap-snap getting interested in the dried weed and following a dealer home to make friends with the marijuana plants.

Maybe she should have introduced him to some nice, safe tulips instead.

At least she could take those home without worrying about being arrested.

Oh well, it was too late to cry over broken flowerpots now.

"And we are doing here what exactly?" Pain inquired as he watched her spread out their towels beneath a nice, shady spot.

"Swimming," the woman replied cheerfully. "I thought it would be nice if we relaxed for once. You are always busy working – I understand that it's very important, but you really look like you could do with a break."

Thatm and she desperately needed a distraction after everything that had happened yesterday.

Pain nodded slowly, still looking rather skeptical, and respectfully turned around as Natsumi stepped out of her beach dress.

"Now what?" he asked once they were both down to their swimwear.

"We shower," the woman answered, deliberately keeping her eyes on his face because looking at Jimmu was currently _very_ distracting and she did not trust herself to keep a clear mind if her eyes decided to wander. "And then we get into one of the pools."

"Very well."

Several pairs of eyes followed them as they walked towards the showers. Natsumi ignored them and instead focused on explaining Jimmu the finer points of water sliding.

The ninja did not seem to be too keen on trying out the oversized slide, but he was rather interested in the heated indoor pool containing an artificial waterfall.

She smiled softly at the relaxed look on the man's face as they watched the masses of water thundering down.

Jimmu had been looking way too tense lately – and after that incident the night before, they really needed some time to relax.

She looked up as she felt a pair of eyes on her and found her non-cat looking at her with a rare softness in his eyes.

The brown color looked wrong on him. Natsumi very much preferred his normal purple ones but that would have led to some rather…uncomfortable questions.

So she simply smiled gently at him, and both of them returned to looking at the waterfall.


	5. Chapter 5

About two hours into their excursion, Natsumi excused herself to go to the washroom. She glanced at the mirror and grinned at the disheveled mop of black hair on her head. Her short shower under the waterfall had really messed it up. Whistling cheerfully, she redid her ponytail and marched out of the room.

Her mood soured slightly when she returned to Jimmu, only to find him surrounded by a couple of preppy ladies attempting to draw him into a conversation, apparently totally undeterred by his cold demeanor.

Natsumi carelessly pushed past them, completely ignoring the indignant shouts of over-the-top outrage around her.

"Sorry for making you wait," she told Jimmu and placed her hand on his arm. The man looked at her, slightly relieved.

"No worries," he answered calmly and both of them turned to leave, not even sparing another glance at the furious and disappointed women.

"I hope they didn't annoy you too much," Natsumi told Jimmu as they both sat down on their blankets.

The man snorted. "It was bearable, although a rather novel experience, I have to admit. I am not exactly used to having women expressing an interest in me."

Natsumi hummed. "Well…I suppose they were too busy running away screaming to admire your striking figure," she replied with a straight face, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Oh?" Pain raised an eyebrow. "You think I make a _striking_ figure?"

"Of course you do," Natsumi answered, not even slightly ashamed of admitting it. "You are an attractive man, Jimmu – and I am not just talking about your looks."

The man shook his head. "You have a strange taste."

"Nope," Natsumi leaned forward and flicked him playfully on the nose. "I have a _very_ _good_ taste."

Then she sat back and rummaged through her bag. "Do you want some cookies?"

Pain accepted the treat she handed him, feeling slightly flustered.

* * *

Natsumi stared at the gigantic plant Mr. Snap-snap had somehow smuggled into her bathtub during their absence. "No," she told him resolutely. "Just no."

"But she is nice," the white side advocated, sounding like a salesman praising his vacuum cleaner.

"No," Natsumi repeated. "We are not keeping her."

"But…"

"No," the young woman vehemently shook her head. "If you are lonely, I'll find you a nice, lovely plant to spend your time with. You can even choose one from the plant identification book I have downstairs. But you are _not_ dating a cannabis plant. I don't want to be arrested for growing drugs."

" **I am not a plant, woman!"** the black side snarled angrily.

"Take the plant away, Zetsu," Jimmu ordered, appearing behind them. "We don't want to risk drawing unnecessary attention."

Reluctantly Mr. Snap-snap grabbed the cannabis plant and left. Natsumi sighed deeply in relief at the huge bullet she had just dodged.

She really should have gotten him a tulip.

* * *

Once the cannabis incident had been sufficiently dealt with, Natsumi quickly threw their used swimwear into the washing machine and changed into some looser clothes.

Jimmu was already waiting in the living room, studying the cover of the blind date book she had just recommended to Mr. Snap-snap.

He looked up as she entered the room, glanced over her attire, and nodded in approval.

"Where do you want to do this? The clearing?" she asked Jimmu as the man put the book on the chair Mr. Snap-snap had claimed his own.

"Yes," the man confirmed and turned towards the door.

Natsumi sighed.

* * *

"Grab onto your chakra," Pain instructed her. "Let it flow freely."

Natsumi concentrated on the warm feeling spreading slowly thorough her body. "Got it. And now?" she asked.

"Attack me," the man replied simply.

"Okay," Natsumi answered cheerfully, not wasting a single moment before moving in. Her steps were quicker than ever before, and she could feel the sheer strength behind her drawn back fist.

Pain easily deflected the incoming punch, slightly amused at her eager compliance. "Well done."

Natsumi blinked in astonished surprise. "That was…wow. I am honestly speechless."

"And yet you manage to talk about your speechlessness," Pain countered drily.

"Mah, schematics," the woman answered, waving her hand, before she whirled around to look at Jimmu. "Hey…do you think I can enhance my Kung Fu that way?" She sounded excited.

"Yes," the ninja agreed and threw her a questioning look. "How good are you at this martial art of yours?"

"Good enough," Natsumi answered off-handedly.

Pain raised an eyebrow at that unspecific answer and Natsumi smiled sheepishly before elaborating. "In Kung Fu one's proficiency is acknowledged by taking tests. For each test you pass, you get a belt in a different color. The lowest rank is white, followed by yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, and brown. The last color is black and signifies mastery. You probably need at least five to seven years of practice to reach that level. "

"Interesting," Pain mused. "It sounds similar to our ranking system, only more fine-tuned. And which of these colors are you?"

"…Black."

Pain snorted. " _Good enough_ , hm?" he repeated and shook his head. "Take up your… stance. We will try it out."

"Okay," the young woman chirped eagerly and fell into a neutral position.

* * *

The young woman collapsed onto the ground, glaring weakly at the unruffled ninja. "How can you be so _fast_?"

"Training," the man replied simply and lowered himself onto the ground, appraising the young woman in front of him with a thoughtful gaze. "Your martial arts have a lot of potential. In my world it would actually be considered a strong taijutsu style. If you were slightly faster, you could give B-rank ninja some serious trouble in close combat."

"Really?" Natsumi asked, sounding rather disbelieving.

Jimmu nodded. "With enough speed and strength, it might even become a S-class style."

"Wow."

There was a moment of silence, then:

"So if you used it, it would be S-rank?"

"If I was skilled enough," the man agreed.

"Great!" Natsumi jumped onto her feet, suddenly feeling very energetic again. "Then it's my turn now. Come on. I wanna show you some more moves!"

* * *

It was late evening when they returned home. Natsumi glanced inside the living room and found both Mr. Snap-snap and the dating book mysteriously absent.

Natsumi really hoped that he had not decided to embark on some self-given holy quest to rescue abused plant life.

She sincerely doubted that a palm tree would fit on her bedside table. Or anywhere else in her apartment.

"Are you hungry?" Natsumi asked as Jimmu gracefully placed himself into her favorite armchair.

"Yes," her non-cat answered, turning on the TV.

The woman hummed, not really feeling like cooking tonight. "Have you ever tried pizza?"

* * *

Pain stared at the assortment of crunchy dough circles spread out in front of him. "This is…pizza?"

"Yup," Natsumi cheerfully opened the fifteenth pizza box, silently wondering if she might have been a bit too enthusiastic in ordering and subsequently decided that no, she hadn't been, because one could never have enough pizza.

Besides, how was Jimmu going to find his favorite toppings if he didn't get to try everything?

So her decision was completely reasonable.

Satisfied with justifying the excessiveness of her order, Natsumi proceeded to build a pizza tower on Jimmu's plate.

The ninja eyed the building process with trepidation and quickly stopped the aspiring architect in her attempt to reconstruct Akatsuki's base of operations on his eating utensils.

Pain carefully extracted a slice out of the lopsided construction and bit into it, his facial expression carefully watched by a very curious woman.

He chewed carefully and finally offered his verdict.

"Not bad. I especially like the crunchy rim."

" **Did somebody say crunchy?"** a third voice cut in. "We like crunchy."

"Mr. Snap-snap!" Natsumi greeted the newly arrived plant-man. "We are eating pizza. Want to try?"

Mr. Snap-snap grimaced at the name, but was quickly distracted by the food in front of him. Gingerly, the white side picked a pineapple topped piece.

He didn't like it.

By the time Jimmu had managed to consume the mini-tower, Natsumi had already fallen asleep on the couch, exhausted by the events of the day.

Pain grabbed a pillow, transformed it into a blanket and carefully covered the young woman, feeling not the slightest bit ashamed of the cloud pattern on the black cloth.

" **You are getting attached,"** black Zetsu commented next to him. He sounded displeased.

"She is useful," Pain replied calmly. "And her chakra is strong. We could always use another asset."

" **Are you sure this is the only reason?"** the black side inquired.

Pain narrowed his eyes, his chakra tightening around him. "Are you questioning me?"

" **Do what you want,"** the black side answered, melting into the ground. " **Just remember our goal.** "

 _Our_ goal? The Akatsuki leader glared at the spot Zetsu had just vacated.

Suddenly a hand brushed against his and a sleepy voice murmured. "Don't be angry, Jimmu. I'll catch a big, fat rat for you."

Her statement was so ridiculous that Pain was startled into laughter.


	6. Chapter 6

When Natsumi woke the next morning, she immediately realized that her collection of blankets had grown and now included a fluffy black one proudly displaying what seemed to be Akatsuki's signature pattern.

She grinned slightly and scanned the room, looking for the not-cat responsible for this newest acquisition, but the man in question was not there.

Neither were the boxes of pizza she had left on the dining table.

He couldn't have eaten all of them, could he? Natsumi listened to any sound of someone using the bathroom courtesy of excessive overeating, but the apartment remained quiet.

Slightly reluctant, she rose from the couch, intent on investigating the whereabouts of yesterday's leftovers.

The pizza detective donned her blanket like a makeshift cloak, looking very much like an Akatsuki member on an important S-rank mission, and went to the kitchen.

A quick search of the fridge told her that Jimmu had indeed managed to put all the remaining pieces (about seventy) into the small space.

Natsumi nodded in impressed appreciation at that feat. Jimmu truly was a master at logistics.

Getting a sudden craving for cold pizza, Natsumi carefully extracted the topmost piece.

When Pain entered the kitchen ten minutes later, he found her sitting on the counter, tightly wrapped into the blanket, and cheerfully munching on a mushroom piece.

He stopped for a second to take in the sight of the woman covered in his colors, mussed black hair sticking out in all directions, and felt strangely pleased. "Good morning," he greeted her politely.

"Morning," Natsumi answered, waving at him. "Thanks for putting the pizza away - and for the blanket."

"It was of no consequence," Pain replied, eying the pizza piece in her hand. "You can eat this cold?"

"Jup," Natsumi answered and hopped down the counter. "Want to try?"

Pain wanted.

He liked it better when it was hot.

* * *

Mr. Snap-snap appeared shortly after Natsumi had changed her clothes, hands tenderly closed around a rather battered-looking Venus flytrap.

Natsumi looked from the plant to Mr. Snap-snap and back again. "Is that your brother? she blurted out, amazed by the similarity.

Pain snorted loudly from his armchair while the black side snapped angrily: " **I am not a plant, woman!"** he sounded slightly more aggressive than the last time he had informed her of that fact.

Natsumi raised her hands in defense. "I just wanted to know if we needed to rob a mortuary to feed your hungry relatives."

Mr. Snap-snap threw her an irritated look and took the potted plant to the bathroom.

"Rob a mortuary? Pain repeated, sounding slightly amused.

"Well, how else would you feed an entire mob of Zetsu clones?"

"Not at all," the man answered immediately, his eyes flashing. "I would end them the moment they entered my sight."

"Well, I suppose that's one way to deal with the problem," Natsumi agreed, flopping onto the couch, and sounding completely unconcerned. "I'll leave the disbanding of random family meetings to you, then. Just don't get any blood on my carpets."

Pain scrutinized her over the top of his notes. "You don't even _have_ carpets," he told her flatly.

"Then we won't have any problems," Natsumi concluded happily, leaning over the armrest to fish a treat out of the cookie box on the side table and throwing a hopeful look at the resident ninja when her arms proved to be too short to reach it.

Pain rolled his eyes but still answered the unspoken plea. Natsumi grinned as an invisible power pushed the box into her direction. "Thanks, Jimmu! You're the best."

The man shook his head and turned his attention back to his notes.

Natsumi munched thoughtfully on her cookie. "I have been wondering…", she began after a long silence, causing Pain to look at her again. "You can summon animals, right? Could you summon a raven and give him a message for Itachi-san?"

Pain raised an eyebrow. "I only have the Deva path at my disposal and even if I was capable of doing it, I would probably only end up summoning one of this world's ravens."

"Have you tried it, though? Natsumi asked, leaning forward in interest. "Maybe that messed up jutsu did more than just sending you here – and you did say that your bloodline was the reason it went wrong."

The man paused at her words. He had not considered this. He was too used to having his powers separated that the possibility had not even occurred to him.

Not really expecting something to happen, Pain attempted to summon an animal and stared in surprise at the confused bird fluttering in front of him.

"It worked," he whispered disbelievingly, throwing a perplexed look at the young woman.

Natsumi smiled in satisfaction. "I thought so."

"Why? Pain demanded sharply. "How did _you_ know that?"

"I didn't," Natsumi answered, hopping from the couch to inspect the bird. "I just thought that it was strange that only you appeared here when your consciousness is apparently split into multiple bodies, so I wondered: Where is the rest of you? Did you copy yourself? Did you leave a part of you behind…or… did you _merge_? Judging by what just happened, I think it might be the last."

There was a long tense silence as Pain pondered over the implications of her words. "You think I might have become the main body," he finally said, sounding strangely tentative and absently dismissed the flapping raven.

Natsumi nodded and threw her non-cat a concerned look. "Yes," she agreed softly.

"I see." The tune was both resigned and final. Natsumi did not like it. It sounded way too broken for her liking. Jimmu was supposed to be fierce and strong.

Thinking quickly, she grabbed the blanket Jimmu had given her and draped it around the man's shoulders.

Pain watched her actions with startled bemusement. "What are you doing?"

"Look scary," Natsumi demanded, picking up her mobile phone.

"Excuse me?"

"Just pretend you are looking at Tobi."

Immediately a dangerous expression passed over the man's face and Natsumi quickly pressed the button. "Perfect!" she declared happily, glancing at the screen. "Oh, aren't you a scary one?"

She hopped over to the ninja and pushed the phone into his hands. "Look! That expression is totally _murderous_."

Pain looked from his threateningly glaring digital self to the smiling woman and back again, silently unnerved at her ability to make murderous sound like a compliment. "Is there a reason you decided to take this picture?"

Natsumi's eyes sparkled mischievously. "I thought about putting up a warning sign to deter unwanted visitors. Beware the cat has a nice ring to it, right? she mused. "Or perhaps you'd prefer something like Caution: Weed Killer?"

Pain snorted. " _Weed Killer_? he repeated.

"Yes," Natsumi agreed, nodding seriously. "This way nobody can say that you didn't warn them first."

"I thought you liked plants? Pain inquired, carefully placing the phone on the side table.

Natsumi huffed indignantly. "Only when they aren't annoying my non-cats."

Pain opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the ringing mobile phone.

The young woman furrowed her brows and grabbed the phone, successfully foiling Skillet's attempt to start a revolution in her living room.

Pain watched as Natsumi answered the call and broke off in the middle of mentioning her name, her face darkening with every passing second.

It made him strangely uneasy. He did not like seeing this kind of expression on her usually cheerful face and he felt the peculiar urge to get rid of the cause of her apparent displeasure.

"Alright, that's enough," the woman suddenly snapped into the phone, apparently fed up with the caller. "First," she began, and Pain felt strangely proud at the firmness in her voice. "It is really rude to start talking when I haven't even finished introducing myself. Second, I don't have anything to do with this trash, so leave me out of it and third: If you ever threaten me again, _I_ will be the one coming after you and you won't get away with a five-month stay in the hospital like the last one who bothered me. So be a good dog and don't bite of more than you can chew, or you might just find yourself a tail short."

Natsumi ended the call and glared angrily at the phone. "Hmpf. Trying to threaten me. Who the hell does he think he is?!"

She stomped over to the cookie jar, took another chocolate flavored one and chewed furiously on it.

Pain's eyes narrowed. "Who was that? he demanded to know.

"Some wannabe criminal," Natsumi answered, carelessly shrugging her shoulders. "Apparently Koto's made some new debts before he disturbed us and named me a stand-in. Now he's vanished, and they want me to pay for it." Her eyes flashed angrily. "I really should have hit him harder."

"I see," Pain replied coldly. "What do you want to do now?"

Natsumi flopped gracelessly onto the couch. "I am not sure," she admitted. "I am torn between dragging my dear ex-finance in and have him own up for his mess and hunting down the caller to give him a piece of my mind."

"Do both," the ninja advised her calmly. "You cannot show mercy to your enemies, for they will show you none."

He threw her a meaningful look. "It will be a good opportunity to test your new skills."

Natsumi's face brightened at his words. "You are right. I'll do both."

"Good."

Pain watched as Natsumi brushed the incident aside, going off to prepare a fruit plate because "We need to eat something healthy." and caught himself in the middle of an unspoken promise to make anyone pay who dared to hurt her.

Provided she didn't do it first, though.

He smirked slightly.

* * *

About thirteen strawberries and twenty-two grapes later, Mr. Snap-snap made a reappearance, reverently carrying yet another plant, and threw an imploring look at the apartment owner.

Natsumi slowly lowered the last apple bunny and vehemently shook her head. "No."

"But…", Mr. Snap-snap began.

"No," Natsumi repeated sharply. "I don't want poisonous plants in my flat. Take it back."

Looking mighty displeased, Mr. Snap-snap absconded with the White snakeroot, muttering about ignoramus people not understanding the plight of abused plant life.

"Jimmu," Natsumi began after the plant-man was gone. "What do you think he's doing with it? I am not going to wake up dead, right? I really don't want to worry about being poisoned."

"He won't," Pain stated resolutely, and there was something so final and dangerous in his tone that Natsumi just had to believe him.

But really, _what_ was Mr. Snap-snap doing with the rejected plants?

Natsumi warily eyed her supply closet.

He wasn't starting a crime syndicate between her brooms, right?

Rightfully worried, Natsumi marched across the room and opened the door, exhaling in relief at the lack of questionable substances growing on top of her vacuum cleaner.

"What are you doing? Jimmu inquired, sticking his head in to see what was wrong.

"Trying to bust a drug cartel," the woman answered grimly. "Where do you think he took the plants?"

"I am not sure," Pain replied slowly, his eyes wandering over the contents and furrowing his brows when he found something amiss. "Didn't you have a shovel in here?"

Natsumi's head whipped around. "It's gone?"

"Yes."

"Do you think…" Natsumi began tentatively. "That he's... _planting_ them outside?"

Pain nodded. "The possibility has occurred to me."

Natsumi left the room so quickly, normal eyes would have seen nothing but a blur.

'She's improving.' Pain noticed with satisfaction and quickly followed after her.


	7. Chapter 7

It did not take them very long to find Mr. Snap-snap. The man-plant was crouching behind a bush on the local park’s playground, and about to lower the poisonous plant into a freshly dug hole.

“Jimmu!” Natsumi called sharply and the ninja immediately rushed forward, snatching the plant out of Mr. Snap-snap’s hand.

Mr. Snap-snap threw the two interlopers an indignant look. “ **Why are you stopping us?”** The black side demanded to know. “We were about to give that plant a new home.” The white side added.

“On the _children’s playground_?” The woman asked exasperatedly.

“It is sunny here.” Mr. Snap-snap answered matter-of-factly.

Natsumi sighed. “Look. I appreciate you want to… save those plants. But kids are playing here. If they accidentally eat it, they might die.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Let’s make a deal. I will help you find a place for your… less legal plants and you will help me kidnap my dear ex-finance.”

Pain raised an eyebrow at her but did not interfere.

“ **Can we eat him?** ” the black side asked hopefully.

Natsumi shook her head. “I need him alive. But you can scare him as much as you want. No, wait. Scratch that. Scare him as much as you can and I am throwing in something for you to eat.”

The black side shared a glance with the white side, or at least attempted to, and the man-plant nodded once. “ **Deal.** ”

Natsumi smirked. “Good.”

She glanced at the plant in Jimmu’s hand. “Now why don’t we go and dig up the rest of your...plants? We can keep them in the apartment above mine for now. It’s currently empty.”

Mr. Snap-snap agreed happily and practically skipped forward to lead the way.

Pain shifted the plant in his arms and threw Natsumi an amused look. “ _Zetsu_?”

The woman shrugged. “You are terrifying as hell, but he’s more unnerving.”

Pain snorted. Natsumi really had a unique way of complimenting people.

Terrifying as hell, really.

* * *

Mr. Snap-snap had collected quite a lot of abused plants, Natsumi noted absently when she saw the pile sitting innocently in front of them.

“Is there a way to transport them without alerting the entire police force?” Natsumi inquired hopefully because she really did not feel like being arrested today. “Preferably without having to carry them one-by-one?”

“Storage seals,” Jimmu answered immediately. “I can draw them up, but it will take me a few minutes.” 

Natsumi smiled brightly at him. “Excellent! I’ll buy you a bag of French fries for that.”

The slight upturn of Jimmu’s lips told her that her non-cat was very pleased by that prospect, and he immediately set out to work.

Unsure what to do now, the young woman fixed her gaze on Mr. Snap-snap. “Um, is there any type of plant you like the most?”

Yellow orbs sparkled as the man-plant went off, reciting what sounded suspiciously like a definition taken directly out of a botanical dictionary.

Her eyes quickly glazed over as Mr. Snap-snap droned on and on.

It was about twenty-five plant definitions later when Jimmu finally announced that the seals were done.

Natsumi jumped up eagerly and received them with a relieved happiness that bordered on desperation.

In other words, she looked like she had just been saved from a terrible torture.

Pain snorted at her expression and quickly taught her how to work the seals.

* * *

The acquisition of the plant-care necessities was left to Mr. Snap-snap while Jimmu smuggled the scrolls into the apartment above hers.

Natsumi used the time to pick up her phone and ordered the biggest helping of French fries her favorite restaurant had to offer. “I’ve got lots of hungry friends over. Make it big. Very big.”

Getting an affirmative answer from the owner himself and a general expression of disbelief that Natsumi actually had friends, she ended the call and focused on the next problem.

Koto.

Now, what should she do with him?

She smirked evilly.

* * *

When Jimmu returned to her apartment, he found himself immediately presented with an entire bucket filled to the brim with French fries.

He raised his eyebrows at the offering but still accepted it with a slightly amused expression. “Thank you. But you are aware that we have over sixty slices of pizza left in the fridge?”

“Fifty,” Natsumi corrected him cheerfully. “I had a small snack while you were out.”

Pain paused and eyed the woman’s petite figure, silently wondering how she could consider ten slices of pizza a _small snack_. He decided not to waste his time contemplating the logistics. He was probably better off not knowing.

“Zetsu has set up his plants upstairs for now,” he informed her instead and rummaged through the cupboard looking for the ketchup. “I added a couple of diversion seals to the door to discourage people from getting too close.”

“Diversion seals?” Natsumi asked curiously.

“Objects and individuals who wear them are more likely to be overlooked.” Pain clarified, pouring a generous amount of ketchup over his fries. “They appear uninteresting.”

“Cool,” the young woman answered and attempted to steal one the French fries. There was a flash of movement and Natsumi suddenly found herself relocated to the living room couch. Jimmu was sitting right next to her, using one hand to restrain her wrists and the other to enjoy his treat.

She rolled her eyes, and the ninja smirked slightly at her.

“Possessive, eh?” she asked.

“Very,” Pain agreed easily.

Natsumi huffed. “Fine, I won’t steal your food again. Can you release me now?”

“No.”

“Why not?” she demanded. “It’s not like I could actually _do_ anything, you know.”

“That would not stop you from trying, anyway.” Pain answered simply and coated his treat in a nice red layer. “And since you are still way too uncontrolled, you would only end up injuring yourself or damaging your property.”

He threw a slightly teasing look in her direction. “You may continue your futile attempts to engage me once we are outside again.”

“Futile attempts to engage me,” Natsumi repeated mock-indignantly, “Someone is very arrogant.”

“It’s not arrogance if it’s true,” Pain retorted and quickly silenced her upcoming protest by pushing one of the French fries into her mouth.

Natsumi chewed furiously on it and decidedly ignored the smirk on his face.

Even though it looked really charming.

* * *

Zetsu returned late that night, appearing directly behind Natsumi as they were busy watching Stephen King’s Rose Red.

Taken aback, the young woman shrieked and instinctively threw her cushion at him, followed by an almost empty bowl of homemade crispy vegetable chips. Mr. Snap-snap easily caught the pillow before it hit his face, but he still ended up being showered with the television snack.

Pain’s shoulders shook slightly with suppressed laughter.

Natsumi blushed. “Ah, Zetsu, I am so sorry! I thought you were a ghost!”

Pain’s shoulders shook even harder.

“A ghost?” the white side repeated slowly, fishing a piece of crispy zucchini out of his hair. “ **First a plant, now a ghost? What a mad woman,** ” the black side added.

“Sorry!” Natsumi repeated sheepishly and moved over to help Mr. Snap-snap de-vegetableize himself.

The plant-man grumbled in displeasure and slunk off to take a shower.

Natsumi turned around and narrowed her eyes at the especially stoic looking Akatsuki leader. “Not a word.”

She got a smirk in response.

Grumbling slightly, Natsumi settled back onto the couch. Her ears got a slightly red tint when a heavy blanket was draped around her shoulders.

* * *

Pain glanced at the sleeping woman and soundlessly rose from his seat. There was something he wanted to try out, and this night’s full moon was the perfect time for it.

He made two clones of himself and instructed them to guard the apartment while he was gone and left the living room, pretending not the see his other selves stationing themselves in a way that allowed them to guard his _host_ rather than the apartment itself.

Pain reached the clearing barely ten minutes later and immediately started to draw crayon seals onto the ground.

It took him about half-an-hour until he had finished the complex, intricate pattern.

Ringed eyes carefully inspected each line, looking for inconsistencies.

Finding none, Pain pulled an apple out of his pocket and placed it in the middle of the seal complex.

He activated his Rinnegan and pushed his chakra into the seals.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then suddenly the air in front of him cracked and a dark rift appeared, sucking the apple into it.

The man nodded in satisfaction. He was getting closer. 

Pain deactivated his Rinnegan and prepared to end the jutsu, when the rift suddenly started to pulse, and a dark figure was being spat out.

Pain immediately cut off the chakra flow.

A soft groan came from the figure and Pain cautiously stepped forward to see what it was.

It was human-shaped, but tiny. About the size of a child nearing its teens.

The figure moved slightly, and Pain suddenly realized that it _was_ a child.

A _familiar_ child.

The Akatsuki leader was looking at a twelve-year-old _Uchiha Sasuke_.

Pain immediately knocked him out.

Great.

Just great.

He had managed to summon an avenger.

Natsumi would not be pleased.

* * *

Natsumi was not well pleased. She had been rudely ripped from her chocolate-filled dream, only to be presented with an unconscious child.

With a very familiar fan on his t-shirt.

She blinked. “Is that… _Uchiha Sasuke_?”

“Yes,” Jimmu answered plainly. He looked slightly contrite, like a cat that had just messed up the knitting yarn despite being told to keep its paws away from it.

It was cute.

Natsumi immediately felt any anger she might have had evaporate.

“What happened?” she asked instead.

Jimmu sighed. “I wanted to see how far my research had progressed, so I tried out the seals I had developed. The rift I created was only supposed to take the apple away. But it returned him in exchange. Apparently there seems to be a rule of balance at work.”

Natsumi stared at him. “Wait. You are saying that rift thing exchanged an _apple_ with Sasuke? We aren’t talking about equivalent exchange here, right? Because that would be really sad.”

Jimmu snorted. “No, I believe it is more like exchanging with the object – or subject that is closest to the rift.”

“I see,” Natsumi replied. “So, what are we doing with him? Because I absolutely refuse to have an avenger in my house.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh! I know. Let’s show him the Naruto series, too. If he knows the truth about Itachi, he won’t go around wanting to kill him anymore. He might even become an asset!”  
  


Jimmu frowned. “And if he does not believe it? If he becomes a danger?”

“You know how badly he craves power. But you can give him something better,” Natsumi answered. “You can give him the truth and his brother. He will be loyal to you for that forever. Besides,” she added lightly. “He’s a twelve-year-old who has barely been trained. It’s not like you can’t handle him.”

The ninja narrowed his eyes at the unconscious child. “Very well. We shall try it your way. But if he proves to be a liability, I will not show him any mercy.”

Natsumi smiled. “I am sure you will not regret it. How about I go and distract Zetsu while you take care of him?”

Jimmu nodded once in agreement.


End file.
